So far this offseason Brian Cashman has traded for Curtis Granderson and (apparently) signed Nick Johnson and dealt for Javy Vazquez. All three moves addressed areas of weakness for the Yankees but, unlike many instances in the past, the team didn’t sacrifice a) financial flexibility going forward; and b) a tremendous amount of top minor league prospects.

With Johnson and Vazquez both on one year-deals, the Yankees aren’t hampering themselves when it comes to the inevitable discussions with Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, as well as their desire to swim in a 2011 free agent pool that could include Cliff Lee, Joe Mauer, Carl Crawford, Brandon Webb and others.

Also, the Yankees appear to be staying committed to retaining as much young talent as they can while also still being active in addressing current issues. As Tyler Kepner mentioned on Twitter, the Yankees used six prospects to get Granderson and Vazquez but kept Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Jesus Montero, Mark Melancon, Austin Romine and Zach McAllister. That’s pretty solid.

It’s also worth noting that, assuming Vazquez has a decent year, the Yankees can expect to get draft picks from whatever team signs him as a free agent next winter. So that will help them re-fill their prospect levels.

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Since there’s so much going on in the Yankees world today, we thought it’d be good to have a last-minute Live Chat so that Chad and I can take your questions. It won’t be a video chat, but we’ll have the live Q&A software set up right here in the blog at 3 p.m. so you can send in your questions for Chad and I to answer in real-time.

Make your plans now: 3 p.m., right here on the blog for a Q&A. Be there!

UPDATE, 11:56 a.m.: In other news, the Yankees reportedly agreed to a deal with minor-league catcher Mike Rivera. He batted .228 with two home runs and 14 RBIs in 41 games for Milwaukee and was non-tendered.